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User blog:GlitterInformer/Smile Pretty Cure!/Glitter Force SDC: Episode 1
Return to the Table of Contents | Advance to Episode 2 Japanese title: "She's Born! The Perfect Smile, Cure Happy!!" English title: "An Exciting Beginning" The Japanese episode starts with all five members of Pretty Cure posing. Then it turns out they’re in a book, which flies away into the sun… OK? Then we meet our protagonist, Hoshizora Miyuki, who loves picture books. Unfortunately, she’s late on the first day at her new school. Despite this, she’s feeling like she’s going to have a great encounter. And she does – the book from earlier flies towards her, and a fairy comes out of the book and hits her in the face. But no worries; Miyuki’s in love with the fairy. The fairy, who ends all her sentences with “kuru,” introduces herself as Candy, a denizen of the land of picture books, Märchenland. Candy then runs away, but leaves the book behind, proof that Miyuki wasn’t dreaming. As Miyuki runs to school, the opening theme starts. The theme song is called Let’s Go! Smile Pretty Cure! It’s a very cheerful song, one that I imagine will be stuck in my head as I continue to watch the series. The opening shows all five of the protagonists doing what they love. Then, it shows their Pretty Cure forms (the song even does a roll call of all their names!). We get a preview of the villains of the series, and some quick fight scenes. It’s a great intro. The English episode, however, starts with the Netflix logo and a rainbow-colored screen that says, “A Netflix Original Series.” From what I hear, all series exclusive to Netflix, whether or not Netflix created them, have the text “A Netflix Original Series” at the beginning of each episode. I believe that for Glitter Force, it should be “A Netflix Exclusive Series” instead. The opening text that exists here means that it will be harder for people to know about the original Japanese version. In fact, it has led some detractors of Glitter Force to believe that Netflix was stealing Smile Pretty Cure! This sequence displays before every episode. Here are your images: 01 1 netflix.png 01_2_a netflix original series.png Then, before any actual story happens, we get the opening theme right off the bat. It’s called Glitter Force, just like the series itself. It shows the same clips, but in a slightly different order. It’s also not all that great. The theme is upbeat and catchy, but it’s generic and it doesn’t energize me as much as the Japanese theme. The singers also seem to lack energy during the song. The title card of the Japanese series shows stylized chibi version of the five protagonists getting sucked into a book. Then, the book opens and shows the five of them inside, with the title displaying over the book. The English version just has the title overlay the first scene of the episode, appearing with a sparkly sound effect. 01_3_japanese title card.png|Japanese title card SmPC01 dub title.png|English title Unlike Smile Pretty Cure, Glitter Force starts at night, with our pink-haired protagonist in bed (over the covers, for some reason). She thinks it would be great if she had “that dream” again, and she does: a dream about her transforming with her four other teammates. The five of them are very excited to be transforming; according to them, it’s like “a fairy tale with girl power and makeup.” The dialogue is a bit ridiculous, and the characters’ voices are high-pitched, but I can feel their enthusiasm. It’s infectious! Name Change: In the Japanese version, the main character’s alter-ego is Cure Happy. In the English version, it’s Glitter Lucky. Why? I don’t know. While both are good magical girl names, Happy seems to have more to do with a “happy ending,” which has to do with both the main character’s interests and the theme of the show. After the dream sequence, we cut to the same scene the Japanese version started with. The voice acting in this segment is a bit… off. Her anguish at being late seems artificial, and her voice still feels too high-pitched for an American teenager. Name Change: In the English version, Miyuki’s name is changed to Emily. What Emily has to do with Miyuki, I don’t know. I do think that it would be easier for American audiences to remember an American name. Oddly enough, Emily doesn’t seem to have a last name. When Candy hits Miyuki in the face, Miyuki same something like, “Ow ow ow ow ow…” But in the dub, when Candy hits Emily in the fact, Emily says, “That’s gonna leave a mark…” I found the English line funnier. In the original, Miyuki asks Candy if she’s a dog, cat, or raccoon dog. In the dub, Emily thinks Candy’s a really expensive toy and asks where she can buy her. Name Change: In Glitter Force, Märchenland becomes Jubiland. “Märchenland” is German for “fairy tale land.” I have no idea how Japanese or English audiences would get that. Also, Candy refers to herself as a pixie, rather than a fairy as she did in Smile Pretty Cure! Candy’s voice is cute in the Japanese version, but in the English version, the acting is so unconvincing! The Japanese version is much better in this regard. Also, Candy doesn’t end her sentences with “kuru” in the dub. In both versions, the scene that follows is Miyuki/Emily introducing herself to the class. Unfortunately, she freezes and is unable to say anything. In the English version, Miyuki's name is erased from the blackboard. 01_4_sub miyuki chalkboard.png|Japanese chalkboard SmPC01 chalkboard.png|English chalkboard The music is oddly sentimental in the English dub of this scene. It’s more of a comedic than a heartwarming moment, so I feel that the goofier Japanese music is a better fit. In the Japanese version, Miyuki has an inner monologue in which she fidgets around, trying to get herself to say something but is too nervous to do so. This scene is cut from the English version. 01 5 Miyuki nervous fit.png In the Japanese version, a kid in the class says, “We’re waiting! Introduce yourself!” In the English version, the kid says, “Is this charades? Because I’m really good at guessing!” I don’t understand why he’d say that, given that Emily doesn’t make any weird movements like Miyuki does. In the Japanese version, Miyuki stutters out her name and that she’s pleased to meet the class. In the English version, Emily gets disoriented and starts saying the pledge of allegiance, the corrects herself and introduces herself to the class. Both scenes are funny. Then, the red-haired girl introduced in the opening and Emily’s dream as one of the members of the team gets up and does the introduction for Miyuki/Emily. Why would she do that? That’s kind of rude. In the sub, she’s shocked that Miyuki didn’t include a punchline, but she doesn’t say this in the dub. In the sub, the red-haired girl makes guesses about Miyuki, including that she looks like an airhead but is really focused, and that she has a little brother named Hoshizora Mitarou who enjoys looking at the stars (“Hoshizora mita”'' translates from Japanese to English as “I looked at the starry sky”, and "tarou" is an ending of many male Japanese names.) This pun gets the entire class laughing. In the English version, Emily recognizes the girl as Glitter Sunny from her dream, whereas in the original, they’re strangers. The girl guesses that Emily is a transfer student who’s bad at public speaking, is pleased to meet everyone, and waves her hands a lot. That last one gets the class laughing. I don’t like this version as much because the joke is at Emily’s expense, rather than a pun about a made-up brother. '''Name Change:' In the Japanese version, the red-haired girl is Hino Akane. In the dub, she’s Kelsey. In both versions, two other girls shown as being part of the team tell Akane/Kelsey to cut it out. In the English version, Emily recognizes the green-haired one as Glitter Spring and the blue-haired one as Glitter Breeze, saying that “This is freaky-deaky.” (Maybe they did that to match with the lip flaps, but I’ve never heard anyone say that before.) Just like with Akane, these two are strangers to Miyuki in Smile Pretty Cure! Then, Akane/Kelsey decides to introduce them to Miyuki. Name Change: In the sub, the green-haired girl is Midorikawa Nao. In the dub, she’s April. In both versions, Akane/Kelsey says that Nao/April is really good at sports. In the sub, Akane says that Nao is soft-hearted, has a sense of duty, and is like a gangster. Nao takes offense to that last one, and Miyuki repeats it in shock. In the dub, Kelsey says that April is tougher than most of the boys. April, offended, says that she’s not that ''tough (though why that would be an insult, I don’t know) and Emily quietly says it’s nice to meet her. '''Name Change:' In the sub, the blue-haired girl is Aoki Reika. In the dub, she’s Chloe. In the sub, Akane says that Reika’s the class rep and vice president of the student council, and that she’s a top student whom all the boys think is a hottie. Reika repeats, “Hottie?” in shock, and Miyuki gasps in amazement. In the dub, Kelsey says the same thing, as well as that Chloe is “so perfect, it’s kinda scary.” Chloe says she’s not perfect, and Emily giggles. In the Japanese version, Akane says she moved from Osaka, so she understands Miyuki’s situation. Kelsey, on the other hand, doesn’t say where she came from, but says that she was tongue-tied and nervous just like Emily. Then, the teacher cuts Akane/Kelsey off. The yellow-haired girl from the intro talks to Miyuki/Emily. In the sub, she tells Miyuki not to worry about it, because Akane was trying to get her to loosen up a bit. In the dub, she says she thought Emily did a good job, and like that she said her name was Emily because she had a hamster named Emily (That’s cute!) Also, in the dub, Emily recognizes her as Glitter Peace. This doesn’t happen in the original. Name Change: In the Japanese version, the blonde is Kise Yayoi. In the dub, she’s Lily. (That means that April is the only one in the group whose name doesn’t end in an “y” sound.) Akane/Kelsey introduces Yayoi/Lily on her way back to her seat. In the sub, she says Yayoi’s a crybaby who bursts into tears if you tease her even a little bit. Yayoi retorts that she’s only cried three times. Kelsey says something similar in the dub, and Lily says she hasn’t cried once today… “actually, maybe once… three times at the very most.” Miyuki/Emily says she’s not nervous anymore and tries again. Miyuki says she loves picture books and how they always have a happy ending, and she looks for that happiness every day. Emily says the same thing, but that she likes fairy tales instead of picture books. Not all fairy tales have happy endings, though, Emily. In fact, a good number are brutal! Akane asks what happiness means to Miyuki, and she responds that if everyone had a twinkle and was excited, everyone would be ultra-happy. (“Ultra-happy” is Miyuki’s catchphrase.) The exchange is similar in the dub, but Kelsey wonders if Emily’s happiness is like if the cafeteria serves fries instead of creamed spinach puffs, and Emily describes happiness as a warm feeling in your heart. In the Japanese version, Akane says she doesn’t get it. In the English version, Kelsey says she thinks that’s called sunstroke. When the teacher decides where Miyuki/Emily will sit, Akane/Kelsey says that the desk behind her is open. In the dub, Kelsey adds that it’s “marginally clean,” which I found to be a humorous touch. In the Japanese version, Miyuki looks out the window and sees Candy flying through the air, searching for Pretty Cure. Miyuki shouts Candy’s name, but when she gets Akane to look, Candy is already gone. This scene is cut from the dub. The next scene is both in the sub and the dub. The bell rings and people leave their classes. The dub gives some background characters quick dialogue. Akane/Kelsey offers to show Miyuki/Emily around the school. In the sub, Miyuki declines because she’s sure Akane has club activities. In the dub, Emily says no because she wants to find a book about dreams. In the sub, when Miyuki is walking through the hallways, she’s excited that Candy wasn’t a dream and decides to search through the school to find her. In the dub, Emily is excited about the girls from her dream as well as Candy and yells that she’s in a real-life fairy tale. In both versions, the other students see her getting all excited and stare at her, and Miyuki/Emily disappears to the side. In the dub, one of the kids says she’s crazy, and Emily says, “Disappearing now…” In the Japanese version, Miyuki looks for Candy, discovering a music room, a lab, and the library. In the English version, it cuts right to the library, because why would Emily look in the first two rooms for the book she wants? Then, Miyuki/Emily finds a glowing book. In the Japanese version, it’s called Mysterious Doorway, while in the English version, it’s called The Library of Legends. Also, the other books in the dub have their titles erased. I know putting text on the books is hard, but it’s kinda 4Kids-like to remove text and have blank spaces where there shouldn’t be… SmPC01 Mysterious Doorway.png|Japanese bookshelf SmPC01 The Library of Legends.png|English bookshelf Miyuki/Emily takes the book off the shelf. Then another light appears. She pushes books aside to see where the light is coming from, only for the screen to go dark and the light to slide to the side. It’s very weird, but it only weirder as another light appears somewhere else and the same thing happens. In the Japanese version, when Miyuki pushes the books aside and the light also goes to the side, it makes a door-opening noise, making it seem like Miyuki’s opening a portal to another world. In the dub, the noise is different, so it’s even more mysterious. After the third set of books Miyuki/Emily pushes away, the entire bookshelf starts glowing, and a portal opens, sucking her inside. In the dub, as Emily is sucked inside, she says, “Emily, you’re not in Kansas anymore!” I found this line to be unfitting. You don’t tend to be making movie references when something weird happens to you… but what would I know? I’ve never been sucked into a portal to another world. In the Japanese version, it cuts from Miyuki being sucked into the portal to Candy searching for Pretty Cure. While she’s looking, she finds a strange wolf man, whose evil laugh scares Candy. Then, the sub does a commercial break. Before and after, it shows eyecatches showing the characters and their magical devices. The first has the transformation device, and then the team members watching three spinning, changing images. They form a picture of Cure Happy, the group shouts, “Happy!” and the title is displayed. The second eyecatch is the same, but the image formed is of Candy, and the group shouts her name. 01_6_eyecatch 1.png 01_7_eyecatch 2.png 01_8_eyecatch happy.png 01_9_eyecatch title.png 01_10_eyecatch candy.png Both the scene where Candy meets the wolf person and the eyecatches aren’t present in the dub. After these scenes, Miyuki/Emily falls through the portal and into another world. It seems to be a cross between a forest and a library. She gets excited by all of the books and realizes they’re similar to the flying book Candy came from. When she goes to put Candy’s book back on the shelf, the bookcase starts glowing. In the Japanese version, Miyuki drops the book in surprise. She looks between the two books and sees Candy on Earth, frantically searching for Pretty Cure. When she pushes the books aside, the bookcase starts glowing and she’s sucked into another portal. In the English version, Miyuki puts the book back, and the book starts talking to her. The book says that she’s the queen of Jubiland, which was a beautiful country until it was attacked by Emperor Nogo of the Shadow Realm. Doing all in her power to defend against him, she sent Candy to find the legendary warriors of the Glitter Force. She says that Glitter Force must find the Glitter Charms to power up their Glitter Pacts and Glitter Crowns (I’m sensing a theme here), and that Emily is one of them. Emily then sees Candy shouting, “Where are you!?” and we end up back where the Japanese version is. Candy: “THIS IS VERY VERY BAD OH NOOOOO!!” The voice acting here is particularly bad. Miyuki/Emily spots Candy and chases after her. The dub adds some chase music, which is an improvement of the lack of music in the sub. Candy falls, and Miyuki/Emily catches her. Candy tries to get away to search for Pretty Cure/Glitter Force, but Miyuki/Emily catches her before she can escape. Candy tells her there’s a wolf in the sky, and Miyuki/Emily doesn’t believe her until she rolls her eyes and happens to see him. I find the way Emily repeats after Candy in the dub to be funnier than the scene in the sub. The wolf takes out a magical book and covers it in black ink, summoning a moon that turns everything dark. In the original, Candy says he’s trying to bring forth a bad end. In the dub, she says he’s rewriting the future. Miyuki/Emily looks around and finds that everyone around her has lost hope for the future and is emanating Bad Energy (as it’s called in the Japanese version). The wolf collects the bad energy into his book, saying that he’s doing so to revive his master, Pierrot/Nogo. The Bad End thing is something a villain summons every episode. In the sub, the villains give the same speech every time they do this, but in the dub, they say different things every time, which I find to be much less boring. Name Change: The main villain of Smile Pretty Cure! ''is '''Pierrot'. In Glitter Force, he’s Emperor Nogo. Ironically, the English name sounds more Japanese than the Japanese name! Also, in the Japanese version, the wolf is called Wolfrun. His name isn’t given in the dub yet. The wolf’s evil magic creates a clock which, for some reason, has 22 hours on it. The smaller hand goes in a circle, and the larger hand goes forward one click. In the English version, the wolf calls this clock the Wheel of Doom. In the dub, when the wolf gloats about how he’s bringing a Bad End to the world, Candy calls him a flea-bag, and Emily says she doesn’t think he’ll like that. Candy says that the wolf is wrong, and that anyone can make their happy ending. Miyuki/Emily agrees, citing her self-introduction as an example. In the sub, the music is solemn, but in the dub, this really heartwarming music plays that gives it a much more hopeful feel. The wolf tells Miyuki/Emily to give over Candy, but she refuses. He asks why she’s making things harder on herself. In the Japanese version, Miyuki says that she’d never let anyone who threatened a helpless creature slide. In the English version, she says that she’s read enough fairy tales to know never to trust a wolf. That’s racist! The wolf decides to eat Miyuki/Emily first and chases her. Candy begs Miyuki/Emily to leave her behind, but she refuses. Eventually, she trips. Just as the wolf is about to kill them, Miyuki says that once she’s set her mind to something, she’ll see it through to the end, and that’s what happiness means to her. In the dub, Emily says that the wolf is wrong and it’ll be a happy ending. Suddenly, a burst of feathers and light knock the wolf back. Miyuki/Emily and Candy are caught up in a burst of light. Candy is convinced that she’s a member of the team. A circle-shaped transformation device appears. Name Change: In the Japanese version, the device is called a Smile Pact. In Glitter Force, it’s called a Glitter Pact. Emily: “Did I win a prize?” Candy: “It’s your very own Glitter Pact!” This dialogue seems unfitting for such a serious situation. In the sub, Candy happily shouts that Miyuki is a Pretty Cure, and Miyuki asks what that means. Instead of answering her question, Candy says to put a Cure Décor in the Smile Pact and shout, “Pretty Cure Smile Charge!” In the dub, Candy happily shouts that Emily is Glitter Lucky, and Emily says it’s just like her dream. Candy says to open and activate the Glitter Pact, say “Glitter Force Makover,” and let the Glitter Pact do the rest. Name Change: You wouldn’t know this yet just by watching the show, but Cure Décor '''in the sub are '''Glitter Charms in the dub. They’re used to transform and to resurrect the Queen. In the Japanese version, Miyuki says she doesn’t understand, but she’ll give it a shot. In the English version, Emily says this time it isn’t a dream. The transformation sequence begins! In the sub, the Smile Pact says, “Ready?” Miyuki says, “Pretty Cure Smile Charge!” and the Smile Pact says, “Go!” In the dub, Emily says, “Insert Glitter Charm!”, the Glitter Pact (which has the same voice as the Queen) says, “Activate Glitter Pact!”, and Emily says, “Okay, here I go! Glitter Force Makeover!” In both versions, I’m wondering, Where did that Décor/Charm come from? A makeup puff comes out of the Smile/Glitter Pact. In the sub, the Smile Pact says, “Go! Go! Let’s go, Happy!” In the dub, Candy tells Emily to use her Glitter Puff (the makeup puff) to put on shades of power. As Miyuki transform, she uses the puff to make her Pretty Cure garments appear. In the original, Miyuki says nothing. In the dub, she says “Poof! Poof! Glitter !” for her wristbands and boots, says, “Poof poof poof, I’m glitter-tastic!” when her dress appears, and does a lot of extra vocalizations as her hair transforms and she puts on her makeup. This makes for a rather annoying transformation in comparison to the original. In fact, it might just be the most ridiculous magical girl transformation in history! Also, the Japanese transformation has its own music, while the English transformation has a guitar remix of the opening theme. In the Japanese version, Cure Happy introduces herself by saying, “The sparkling and shining light of the future! Cure Happy!” In the English version, she introduces herself with, “A fabulous shimmer! A glow in your heart! I’m Glitter Lucky!” I prefer both the line and the delivery in the dub. But the dialogue isn't all that's changed. Saban likes to dim stuff, too. According to this very wiki, this is done to prevent viewers from getting seizures. It’s a noble goal, but I prefer the brighter version of the attack. Plus, it makes you wonder why you don't hear about Japanese kids getting seizures from Pretty Cure. Most of the transformation is considerably darkened. Everything from Miyuki/Emily saying the transformation incantation to her hair changing is dimmed. Here's the Japanese version: 01_11_pretty cure smile charge.png|"Pretty Cure Smile Charge!" 01_13_japanese puff.png|Smile Pact: "Go! Go!" 01_15_smile pact.png|Smile Pact: "Let's go, Happy!" 01_17_miyuki smiles.png 01_19_japanese armbands.png 01_21_japanese boots 1.png 01_23_japanese boots 2.png 01_25_japanese dress.png 01_27_japanese skirt.png 01_29_japanese bow.png 01_31_japanese hair 1.png 01_33_japanese hair 2.png And here's the English version: 01_12_glitter force makeover.png|"Glitter Force Makeover!" 01_14_english puff.png|Candy: "Now use your Glitter Puff to put on shades of power!" 01_16_glitter pact.png 01_18_emily smiles.png|*giggles* 01_20_english armbands.png|"Poof, poof, Glitter Bands!" 01_22_english boots 1.png|"Poof, poof, Glitter Boots!" 01_24_english boots 2.png 01_26_english dress.png|"Poof, poof, poof..." 01_28_english skirt.png|"...I'm glitter-tastic!" 01_30_english bow.png 01_32_english hair 1.png 01_34_english hair 2.png|"Wow!" Just as the wolf is about to attack Happy/Lucky and Candy hide behind a brick wall. Happy/Lucky says that the big bad wolf can’t blow down a brick house. In the dub, Candy says Happy/Lucky is smarter than she thought. Unfortunately, the wolf turns the brick wall into a monster. Name Change: In the sub, the monster is called an Akanbe. In the dub, it’s called a Buffoon. The next bit is darkened. The wolf guy sends the Akane/Buffoon forward, and Happy/Lucky and Candy panic. Here's the Japanese version: 01_35_wolfrun 1.png 01_37_wolfrun 2.png 01_39_akanbe.png 01_41_miyuki candy scared.png And the English version: 01_36_ulric 1.png 01_38_ulric 2.png 01_40_buffoon.png|"Buffoon Bash!" 01_42_emily candy scared.png Getting away from the monster, Happy/Lucky jumps into the air surprisingly high – airplane high, in fact. While she’s freaking out over this, the monster leaps after her. She reflexively thrusts her hands out, accidentally shoving it back down on the ground. Miyuki/Emily lands and is excited to do whatever comes next. Then we get more darkening as Happy/Lucky discovers that she and Candy have landed on the monster and the two run away. I apologize for the blurry sub footage, but I couldn't find anything better, and there's no way I'm paying $567 dollars for the DVD set. Japanese version: 01_43_happy running.png 01_45_candy clinging to happy.png And English version: 01_44_lucky running.png 01_46_candy clinging to lucky.png Candy tells Happy/Lucky to use her magical finishing attack. Name Change: Cure Happy’s finisher attack is called Happy Shower. Glitter Lucky’s is called Sparkle Storm. Happy/Lucky tries her attack, holding out her hands as stock footage plays. In the Japanese version, she says, “Happy! Happy! Happy Shower!” while in the English version, she says, “Sparkle! Sparkle! Sparkle Storm!” Neither of these are good attack lines, in my opinion. Unfortunately for both versions of the protagonist, and fortunately for us viewers, the attack doesn’t work. More darkening! The Akanbe/Buffoon chases after Happy/Lucky and Candy again. One shot is repeated from earlier, but another is new. 01_47_happy candy running.png|The Japanese version (still blurry as heck) 01_48_lucky candy running.png|The English version Candy says she doesn’t have enough spirit (in the dub, she calls it Glitter Spirit), to which Happy/Lucky replies that she was super fired up for it. In the dub, Lucky adds that she almost made the pep squad once. The Akanbe/Buffoon keeps chasing them, and Happy/Lucky trips again. In the sub, Happy says that if she runs away, the happiness will run away too, and that no matter what, she won’t let Wolfrun win. In the dub, she says that running away is no way to get a happy ending, and that she mustn’t give up. The Smile/Glitter Pact responds by glowing. Candy tells Happy/Lucky to channel all her (Glitter) spirit into the pact. In the Japanese version, Happy yells, “Spirit!” over and over again, while in the dub, Lucky cheers like a cheerleader. The pact starts sucking in sparkly power, and Candy tells her to put in more spirit. (In the dub, Lucky asks if it’s dangerous, another slightly funnier touch added by Saban). Just as the wolf is about to attack, the pact creates a pink explosion, in which Happy/Lucky tries her attack again. In the Japanese version, the Smile Pact explodes into pink light, with which Happy forms a heart. She shouts, “Pretty Cure Happy Shower!” as she launches the heart as a huge pink beam. In the dub, the same thing happens, but Lucky says, “All right! Glitter Force Sparkle Storm!” Some shots of Happy/Lucky unleashing the beam are darkened in the dub. Here's Happy Shower: 01_49_happy shower 1.png 01_51_happy shower 2.png 01_53_happy shower 3.png 01_55_happy shower 4.png And here's Sparkle Storm: 01_50_sparkle storm 1.png 01_52_sparkle storm 2.png 01_54_sparkle storm 3.png 01_56_sparkle storm 4.png The monster is destroyed, and from its nose, a Cure Décor/Glitter Charm shaped like a strawberry falls into Happy/Lucky’s hands. After defeating the Akanbe/Buffoon, Happy/Lucky falls to her knees from exhaustion. In the sub, Candy says that the Happy Shower takes a lot of power, and Happy says that she was so scared. In the dub, Candy says that saving the world is exhausting, and Lucky says she hopes she won’t have to do that every day. Don’t worry, Lucky, it’s only once a week. Out of sight of the good guys, the wolf is angry. In the sub, Wolfrun just growls, “Pretty Cure…!” and exits. In the dub, he says that Glitter Force may have won, but he’ll be back. The evil moon he summoned disappears, Happy/Lucky de-transforms off-screen, and everyone goes back to normal. In the Japanese version, Candy tells Miyuki that she wants her to find the Cure Décors to save her world. Miyuki says she doesn’t understand, but it sounds exciting. She then inner-monologues that something happy is really going to happen. In the English version, Candy tells Emily that she wants her to find the rest of the Glitter Force to save her world. Emily acts disappointed that she isn’t a solo act, then says she’s kidding and that she’d love to help. She monologues that the only thing more exciting than a happy ending is a happy beginning. Clever! That’s the end of the episode… except, like almost every anime, there’s an ending theme! And unlike almost every anime dub, Glitter Force also has an ending theme! Most dubs don’t want to go through the effort of translating an ending theme or writing a new one, which is sad, because usually ending themes are fun to look at and listen to. But Glitter Force not only made their own theme, they made enough so that there’s a new ending theme every four episodes! The first Japanese ending theme is called "Yay! Yay! Yay!" while the first English ending is called "Wake Up, Shake Up". While I do believe that the Japanese ending theme is better, that’s mostly because the vocals don’t blend too well with the background music in the English version. As someone who doesn’t have too much technical knowledge of music, I can’t say exactly what’s wrong. Even so, both songs are upbeat and fun to listen to. Glitter Force’s ending theme is a lot better than its opening theme. It’s sad that "Wake Up, Shake Up" is so short in comparison to its Japanese counterpart. Interestingly enough, the ending themes have different footage. The Pretty Cure Wiki says that the first two Glitter Force ''ending themes have the same footage as the Japanese endings (of which there are two), and the ones that occur later have new footage. This means that ''Glitter Force’s ending likely uses footage from the second Smile Pretty Cure! ending, and that we’ll see the footage from the first Japanese ending in the second English ending. 01_57_yay yay yay.png|The Japanese ending 01_58_wake up shake up.png|The English ending The Japanese episode ends with a preview of the next one and a list of sponsors. The English episode ends with the opening theme playing over the credits; the logos of Toei Animation (the animation studio), Netflix (the publisher/distributor), and Saban Brands (the company in charge of the English dub); and a quick list of the actors in various other versions of Glitter Force in all sorts of different languages. Overall: If you’re debating on whether to choose Smile Pretty Cure! or Glitter Force, I don’t have much to go off of, since this is only the first episode. However, going off just this, I advise that you choose the former. While the English version has catchy opening and ending themes and has some minor dialogue improvements over the original, the bad acting is what ultimately makes it inferior to the original Japanese version. While not all the voices were bad (in fact, I really liked the wolf’s voice in the dub), the worst acted characters happened to be the ones we saw the most: Emily and Candy. Not everyone is comfortable with subtitled foreign cartoons, though. Whether they find reading distracting or difficult, or they’re alienated by the foreign language, there’s a sizable group that feels more comfortable with dubs. If you’re in that group, then Glitter Force ''is for you. It isn’t a bad dub overall, I don’t think. It just has subpar acting, which really is a shame. If you look at most American cartoons, the acting is obviously professional and enhances the work. It’s a pity that dubbed anime seems to be the exception. '''Next time: 'Akane/Kelsey takes the stage as Cure/Glitter Sunny! Category:Blog posts